Pet-friendly rental homes are, clearly, a growing segment of the Nelson County single-family rental home market. Many renters want or already have a pet, which has in turn prompted many property owners to allow them under certain conditions. Most pet-friendly rentals have a lawn that is designed with a pet’s safety in mind. But some pets, like dogs, may use that lawn as a waste area, which would create unsightly brown spots in an otherwise healthy expanse of green. For this reason, to help prevent pet urine spots from spoiling your rental home’s lawn, do one or several strategies recommended by lawn care experts.
The reason that dog urine causes grass to turn brown is that it possesses a lot of nitrogen. In small amounts, nitrogen is good for your lawn. But too much in one spot can kill the grass, leading to brown patches in the yard. In the case that your dog tends to urinate in the same places every time, one thing you can do is to avoid putting nitrogen-rich fertilizer in those locations. You can damage the lawn more with your fertilizer if it has nitrogen in it, so be mindful to either choose a nitrogen-free fertilizer or don’t apply fertilizer to the pet urine spots.
One beneficial yet simple strategy is to rinse the lawn if your dog urinates on it. This is far simpler when your dog tends to go on the same places all the time. But although that is not the case with you, spraying the lawn with water could certainly help dilute the urine and prevent it from burning the grass.
In the same manner, some dog owners have found success by encouraging their pets to drink more water or by way of giving them supplements designed to neutralize the nitrogen in their urine. The reason behind the first approach is to dilute your dog’s urine by giving them more water. Allowing that this successfully works with most dogs, keep in mind that it’s important not to give your dog too much water, or they could become ill. The alternative is to try pet-safe supplements designed to help minimize the damage to your lawn. Dietary supplements like these are believed to bind with the nitrogen in your dog’s urine, turning it into something less harmful to the grass.
Lastly, many pet owners have protected their rental home’s lawn from pet urine spots by training their dog to urinate in other areas. In the case that there are places in the yard that do not have grass, you should train your dog to urinate there. This approach makes sense on the off chance that your dog is receptive to consistent training. You could equally use fencing or a urine-resistant ground cover to create a dog-friendly place for them to pee. A small patch of clover, pea gravel, or even mulch could be all you need to keep your dog from damaging a healthy, green lawn.
Good lawn maintenance does certainly encourage a healthy lawn to be resistant to brown spots. However, every once in a while even careful tending and daily watering are inadequate to prevent them. By carefully putting into practice one or all of the top strategies in this article, you can surely keep your pet-friendly rental home and lawn in great condition. If you need help managing your pet-friendly rental or finding tenants, contact us today at 434-215-3028 for a consultation.
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